Visiting Information

Time with Your Child

Although you may feel that you need to be at the bedside every minute, the amount of time you spend with your child in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) will depend on many things. These may include your child’s age and type of illness, the needs of other children and family members, your work schedule and other demands on your time and the need to take care of your own health.

There may be times when we ask you to step out of the unit temporarily for procedures or emergency situations. You may return as soon as the circumstances allow. You may choose to leave the room during any procedure that makes you uncomfortable.

Your Child Needs Rest

Critically ill children need to rest as much as possible. Your child probably will sleep much more than he does at home. Please help keep your child’s room a quiet, restful place.

Visits by brothers and sisters ages 4 to 14 can be made by special arrangement and should last no more than 15 minutes. Please notify your nurse in advance when you are planning to bring your child’s siblings so your nurse can schedule time with the Child Life specialist. We try to provide an opportunity for siblings to meet with a Child Life specialist to make sure they understand what they see in the PICU and have a chance to ask questions or talk about things that upset them.

Siblings must be supervised at all times and must be as quiet as possible. There may be some times when no sibling visits are allowed. For example, in winter, when many children in the community have colds and respiratory infections, we may cancel all sibling visits.

See Friends in the Waiting Room

Each person entering the room can bring new germs into contact with your child. Visitors outside the immediate family should be here only because your child needs to see them, not because they want to see your child. Your friends may want to come to support you. Whenever possible, meet them in the waiting room rather than your child’s room.

Please do not go into the rooms of other children on the floor. If you want to talk with family and friends of other patients, please meet in the waiting room.

Information About Your Child’s Condition

Hospital staff will discuss your child’s condition only with parents or legal guardians. These discussions may be in person or on the phone. Friends and relatives should contact you for information.

You may want to designate a member of your family to be the contact person. You can share information with your designee, who can make or take phone calls from everyone else. This will limit the time you spend on the phone to only the calls you wish to make.

If you give out the phone number in your child’s room, understand that the nurses cannot answer these calls.

Safety Overnight

Only two parents or guardians may be in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) after 8:30 pm. There’s room for one person to sleep in the room.

We have special safety policies for the protection of everyone in the hospital overnight. Parents and guardians staying overnight are given an ID bracelet to wear. Entrances to most buildings are locked, and access to patient floors is limited.

Getting the Sleep You Need

We encourage families to sleep during the night. Remember, your health is important, too. In addition to the sleep chair in your child’s room, we have seven parent sleep rooms. Below are guidelines for using these rooms. Your child’s nurse can give you more details.

Only two parents or guardians per child can stay in the hospital overnight. Others will need to go home or may request a room at the Ronald McDonald House, 513-636-7642.

We cannot guarantee a sleep room to any family.

Sleep rooms are assigned first come, first served, according to these priorities:

Parents of newly admitted children

Parents who have been here and were not assigned a room the night before

Parents who were assigned a room the night before

Room keys are given out at 6 pm for six of the sleep rooms. The last room is reserved until 11 pm for late admissions, then assigned as usual. Only one room will be assigned per family.

Parents who have a room at the Ronald McDonald House will be assigned a hospital sleep room only if there are vacancies after 11 pm.

Room keys must be returned to the receptionist by noon the next day. At that time, parents can sign up for the next night.

You will want to cheer up your child while she is staying in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and friends also want you to know they are thinking of you. Good ideas for gifts and decorations include:

Stuffed animals (two or three): Your child’s favorites may be more comforting than new ones.

Mylar balloons (two or three): Latex balloons are not permitted in the hospital.

Artificial flowers: Plants and cut flowers are not permitted in the PICU because they can carry germs.

Having a child in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a stressful time for parents and other family members. You are worried about your child and may find it difficult to leave, even for short periods of time. It is important, however, to take care of yourself so you can continue to support your child. He will need you to be rested and strong when you are transferred out of the intensive care area.

Here are things you may want to do to take care of yourself:

Take turns staying in the room.

When your child is sleeping, take breaks to rest, sleep, take a shower, do laundry or spend time with family or friends in the waiting room.

Go off the floor for a meal.

Take a walk around the hospital grounds.

Spend time with other children at home or at the Ronald McDonald House.

Find Us

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is found in Location B of the Cincinnati Children's Main Campus.

Use our maps and driving directions to find your way to the Cincinnati Children's and the PICU.